House bill expands, strengthens 4Ps
A measure that seeks to strengthen the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) gained support from the members of the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation.
Panel chairman 1PACMAN Representative Mikee Romero said the Expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Act is aimed at providing more sustainable intervention to fight poverty.
The bill aims to amend Republic Act No. 11310 or “An Act Institutionalizing the 4Ps” to provide opportunities to adult household members by supporting their education, entrepreneurship and employment trainings.
One of the bill’s authors AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee said it is about time to amend the existing law anchored in the principle of investing in human development.
“We want to address poverty by opening opportunities for 4Ps adult beneficiaries to capacitate them to provide for their families after the 7-year maximum period that the program is allowed to support them,” Lee said.
“Adults must not be forgotten or neglected just for the mere reason that they are already working. We can still help them and give them opportunities to make their lives better,” he added.
Under this measure, interventions to assist 4Ps adult beneficiaries shall have three tracks, namely: (1) the Entrepreneurship Track; (2) the Employment Track; and the (3) Alternative Learning System (ALS) Track. At least one adult beneficiary must join and complete any of the said tracks.
Adult beneficiaries who successfully complete the Entrepreneurship Track shall be given assistance by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to ensure the ease of establishing a micro or small business and link him/her to a target clientele. Those who finish the Employment Track shall be given job facilitation assistance by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), while those who complete non-formal education using the ALS Track by the Department of Education (DepEd) until they finish Senior High School shall be given assistance to ensure their pursuit of higher learning or employment.
Under the existing law, 4Ps provides conditional cash grants to qualified indigent families to improve their health, nutrition, and the education of their children aged 0-18. As of September 30, 2022, 4Ps covers a total of 4,285,531 household beneficiaries across 41,676 barangays in the country, a big number of which are agricultural workers.
